UConn signs multi-year college football TV deal with CBS Sports

The University of Connecticut and CBS Sports have announced a multi-year TV partnership for UConn’s home college football games.

As part of the deal, CBS Sports Network will televise four home games during the 2020 season and all home games from 2021-23.

UConn is moving the bulk of its athletics program from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East this year. Big East does not offer football, however, meaning UConn will operate an independent program for the first time.

As such, the TV deal – believed to be a seven-figure sum over four years – is a much-needed financial boost for UConn.

In 2020, CBS Sports Network will televise the contests against Indiana, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, and Army. UConn is looking to secure a TV deal for its remaining home games in the campaign, against UMass, Old Dominion and Maine.

Additional opponents throughout the duration of the deal include teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Conference USA, and Mountain West conferences.

According to the Hartford Courant, the deal – which was facilitated by Learfield IMG College – comes with a pair of two-year options that could push the agreement through the 2027 season.

It remains unclear when the 2020 college football season will start due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mark Emmert, National Collegiate Athletic Association president, has reaffirmed that college sports will not return from the sports shutdown until university campuses have reopened.

The slew of media-rights deals agreed for the Korean K League ahead of its recent restart did not generate large revenues for international distributor Sportradar. But the league hopes to capitalise, in the years to come, on the boost to its profile, as one of the first competitions to restart after Covid-19-related shutdowns.

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